Started reading this as a fun Christmas read, so was fully expecting the clichés, although I do feel the pair accidently seeing each other naked withing the first 50 pages was a bit much. Also in the blurb says the two hate each other but they start to warm up to each other and be attracted to one another again in the first 50 pages or even less. Although to be fair who wouldn't love Sky, the woman is perfect, literally. She's drop dead beautiful even with a head bruise and no make up, she's so confident she doesn't need to be told she's beautiful, she has naturally almost white blonde hair and blue eyes, she's talented, down to earth, sexy, even her horrible family is just proof of how resilient she is. This girl seriously has no faults, I think I'd have rather she was the fairy princess Alec first thought her to be and she learnt how to be more grounded from him and he learnt to be more fun from her. But they pretty much are head over heels in love with each other very early on (oh and they're great in bed together too) so what's the point of me reading past the first 150 pages? Had some cute parts but everything happened too fast Sky is too perfect to be real and even though I was curious about Alec's past I wasn't curious enough to read about two already infatuated people discovering *gasp* they are in love. Shame because I really loved a different Christmas book by Sarah Morgan.

Mmm, reading this was like enjoying one of those Christmas hot chocolate drinks that have become so popular in recent years: excessively sweet, indulgent, delicious and perfect for this time of year.

I really enjoyed how slow Sarah Morgan was willing to be when it came to Sky and Alec get to know each other. It was also tricky off the bat, because Alec was such a prick to Sky in previous books. Fortunately, his past behaviour is dealt with well, and he more than makes up for himself. The slow burn revelations were well done, and I was a bit sad that the book wasn't neatly split into time with Alec's family versus Sky's family.

I was hoping the ending would head in one direction (smack dooooown!) but I wasn't too disappointed with what I ultimately got, and damn if I didn't love the final chapter. I wanted to keep going with these characters, always a sign of an enjoyable read, and it was perfect snuggly Christmas reading. Hearts for Sarah Morgan.

When it comes to review this type of books, I don’t expect unpredictable plots or an amazing master piece. So the rating is based on how enjoyable and entertaining reading this book was for me (and to be completely honest, that’s how rating works for me, in general).

The Plot
Of course, it will be no surprise to you that the plot is pretty much predictable. Not even the synopsis hides that fact, it completely gives it away. The selling point of this book is that even you being perfectly aware of the direction of the plot, it’s that sort of thing you still want to read, and live. You want to hear about the story of two people who apparently hate each other, but discover they have more than in common than they’d initially thought. You want to hear about people who chose love over comfort and convenience. You want to hear that people can still fall in love even after having lost complete faith. The plot might be predictable yes, but sometimes, all you need is a bit of romance and faith in your life. And for that, this book is pretty much inspiring, if not a bit naive.

The Characters
Despite the fact that I liked all the “fireworks” and the love-hate relationship between Skylar and Alec, I didn’t feel much for each one of them individually. Alec was the though, unavailable and unreachable guy with a broken heart, which was a safe bet for swooning material. Then Skylar, insanely beautiful, who is so much more than your average hot girl. To be fair, it’s refreshing to read a book that features a bombshell with a brain as opposed to the overused plain Jane. Who said you can’t be pretty, care about your pretty shoes, but still have a brain and be willing to get dirty (in all senses, really). I do think Skylar was a character with so much potential. At some point, though, it gives the impression as if she is trying too hard, and even comes across as needy sometimes. She wants to be tough but in fact, most of the time, she is trying to convince Alec of how much he needs to give a try to a relationship and be happy again - much to her benefit. During the rest of the time, she was simply being way too physical, in every kind of possible situation and scenario, in order to probably compensate the emptiness in her heart. It was just a bit too much. Apart from that, I have to say I loved her attitude towards both her family and ex.
Me not being a pet person, I absolutely despised the stereotype about dog lovers and how this was used to depict a bad image about Alec’s ex. Okay, we get it, the woman is horrible and uninteresting. But what does that have to do with liking or not liking dogs? “You are so different from my ex, you actually like dogs?” So what?

The Writing Style
I thought the writing style was very suitable to the genre and progression of the story. The author doesn’t use the chapters as a separation between POVs, but instead we have access to both Skylar and Alec’s POV (individually) which makes us feel as if we are inside the characters’ minds.


Overall, Christmas Ever After was a fun, enjoyable read, along the lines of ‘You know how it’s going to end, but you still want to read’. It has unexplored potential that could be used to actually defy the genre, and relied a bit too much in stereotypes and tropes.

(originally posted here: http://www.nyareads.com/2016/05/15/christmas-ever-after-sarah-morgan/)

Sky and Alec have clashed from the start. They frequently see each other because they're part of the same friend group, but the only thing between them is insults. However, when Alaec comes to her aid, they end up spending Christmas together on Puffin Island. Can they put aside their differences?

I was at work the other day and I finished the digital ARC I was reading. I had planned to move on to another one, bit my phone decided to be annoying and I couldn't get anything to download. So I took this one off our Christmas table to read. It's a completely light romance, but I enjoyed it. I think I've read Sarah Morgan before, but I hadn't read the first two in this series. I definitely got by without it, bit it would have been better had I read them first.

Akhirnya setelah begadang bisa menamatkan ini juga. Mari kita lihat siapa yang jadi favorit dari seri Puffin Island.

Oke, langsung masuk review aja. Pertama, aku suka Alec. Nggak tau, dia tuh sweet banget. Image demen dingin, kaku, nggak banyak omong itu buat menutupi sesuatu. Aslinya baik banget. Ini membuktikan nggak semua karakter di PI kaku semua alias nggak bisa mengungkapkan perasaan secara gamblang. Kedua, karakter Skylar hampir mirip sama Lily, sama-sama ceria. Bedanya, Lily lebih positif dan Skylar banyak tertawa. Sky pesimistis juga, tapi nggak kukuh kayak Lily. Dan aku suka banget sama cara dia mencairkan suasana, padahal di antara dia dan Alec masih belum hilang kecanggungannya. But, on other side, agak gemes juga sama sikap "baik-baik aja"-nya ini. Asli kesel karena yah dia nggak berani mengungkapkan keinginannya lebih lantang ke ortunya.

Ketiga, ugh, i hate her parents and her boyfriend. SEJAHAT ITU. Sepanjang cerita dijelaskan mereka suka banget ngatur kehidupan Sky dan caranya mencibir keberhasilan Sky di bidang seni. Ada, ya, orang tua yang sama sekali nggak punya hati kayak gitu? Maksa anaknya sampai harus pacaran sama narsistik gendeng yang asdkdjekdkkl ngeselin! Apa yang dia lakuin ke Sky saat pameran itu bener-bener sinting, sih. Terus, sebenarnya aku menunggu adegan lebih dramatis, kayak ortu Skylar akhirnya minta maaf ke anaknya, tapi nggak ada. Bagian itu langsung disingkat dengan hanya beberapa kalimat. Hmm, egoku nggak bisa tenang di bagian ini.

Keempat, aku suka cara penulis memasukkan unsur sejarah, pengamatan alam yang pastinya butuh riset berbulan-bulan, dan cara Skylar memandang seni. Asli, aku jadi kagum sama Mbak Sarah ini. Semuanya nge-blend dengan sempurna, nggak ada yang terkesan menggurui ke pembaca. Cerdas banget. Terus aku as pembaca dimabuk kepayang sama penggambaran Puffin Island dan kepengin banget ke sana ㅠㅠ Kelima, persahabatan Skylar, Brittany, dan Emily sukses bikin terharu. Aku nangis saking irinya. Like, mereka punya kehidupan dan tanggungan masing-masing, tapi masih bisa manage waktu buat sahabat. Sampai menghubungi mereka saat butuh. Poin buat selalu ada itulah yang bikin ngiri. Yah, walaupun sebenarnya keseluruhan cerita TBGTBT, tapi cukup menghibur.

Oke, lanjut soal keseluruhan seri Puffin Island. Bagiku, cerita terbaik tetap dipegang prekuelnya, Playing by the Greek's rule, lalu buku ini di posisi kedua. Dari hero macam Zach, Ryan, Alec, dan Nik, di sini Alec favorito. Seperti yang sudah kusebut di awal tadi, dia baik dan love language-nya act of service. UGH, I LOVE HIM. Buat heroine-nya nggak usah ditanya, pasti Lily wkwkwk terus aku nemu satu kesamaan dari empat buku ini: ketertarikan seksual semata yang akhirnya berubah jadi cinta. Ya, semua ceweknya hampir kabur dari tempat mereka menjalin hubungan sama hero-nya. Dan hero-nya nggak kepengin ketimpa tanggung jawab punya hubungan jangka panjang. Hal yang asdfghjkl gatau, deh, pada akhirnya bikin mereka sadar kalau mereka mau melanggar hal itu. Mungkin ini pola penulis. Entahlah.

Buat yang kepengin baca buku ini, warning sekali lagi, ini buku dewasa. So, please be wise! Urutan bacanya: Playing by the Greek's Rule (prekuel), First Time in Forever, Some Kind of Wonderful, dan terakhir One Enchanted Moment. Oh ya, semua ini sudah diterjemahkan dan bisa dibaca di gramdig atau ipusnas. Lengkap! Judul asli buku terakhirnya itu judul aslinya Christmas Ever After, tapi kalau di versi terjemahan jadinya itu.

Read as part of the American release with Lori Foster's In Too Deep (I only read Morgan's book).

Another fun, Christmassy romance from Sarah Morgan. Fun, romantic and perfect for an afternoon on the sofa, preferably in front of a roaring fire!

Klassischer Weihnachts-Chick-Lit.

Mich hat das wunderschöne Cover angezogen und die Story war auch so ziemlich das was ich erwartet hatte.
Der Schreibstil ist angenehm, locker und flüssig.
Das Beste an der Geschichte ist das Setting. Zu erst ein verschneites englisches Landhaus, dann das weihnachtlich herausgeputzte Puffin Island. Beides traumhaft und bildlich beschrieben.

Skylar und Alec sind gute Figuren, die sich nicht besonders mögen aber auch beide anders sind als sie sich gegenseitig eingeschätzt haben. Sie ist eine erfolgreiche Künstlerin aus einer versnobten Familie und überraschend unkompliziert. Alex wirkt total reserviert und überrascht indem er sich kümmert.

Die Geschichte ist romantisch aber auch humorvoll und es werden alle Klischees bedient. Zwei, die sich nicht mögen und dann doch. Dazu beginnt und endet alles mit einem Antrag.

Alles in allem: Schönes Cover, süßes Glück, traumhaftes Setting. Und die anderen Bücher der Reihe kann man immer noch lesen, da die wahrscheinlich sowieso ähnlich vorhersehbar sind.

Loved it! Skylar and Alec are complex and a whole lot of fun. Now I want to go back and re-read the first 2 books in the series!!! A great read :)